Salad refrigerator



2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed 001:. 2'7, 1954 March 26, 1957 'r. SPRING SALAD REFRIGERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 2'7, 1954 l wmuar" Wd0770qZ/Jp7 Wm Q7 1214 United States Patent SALAD REFRIGERATOR Theodore L. Spring, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Leitner Equipment Company, a corporation of Illinois Application October 27, 1954, Serial No. 465,111

4 Claims. (Cl. 62-89) This invention relates to a salad refrigerator particularly adapted for preparing salads and sandwiches in a restaurant.

The salad refrigerator constructed in accordance with the present invention is arranged with means for holding the ingredients of salads in proper condition and easily accessible to the user. In addition to the salad equipment, the device is provided with means facilitating the making of sandwiches of various kinds, so that salads and sandwiches may be prepared quickly with a minimum of floor space and without either of the uses interfering with the other.

The top of the refrigerator is provided with means for firmly holding a cutting board that may be readily reversed or replaced. The refrigerator is also provided with a dispenser for holding sliced bread in convenient position and with space for a toaster adjacent the bread dispenser. The compressor unit is positioned at one side of the refrigerator and is arranged to occupy only the lower portion of the space in one side of the refrigerator cabinet to make the upper portion of the space available for the bread dispenser and for a removable garbage container.

The structure by means of which the above and other advantages of the invention are attained will be described in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a salad refrigerator embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the refrigerator, with the cutting board and the bread dispenser removed to show the structure of the top of the refrigerator cabinet; and

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through one end of the refrigerator cabinet showing the arrangement of the bread dispenser, the cutting board, and the garbage container.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a refrigerator cabinet having a front wall 3 provided with doors 4, 5 and 6 providing access to refrigerated compartments. It will be understood that the door arrangement is not critical insofar as the present invention is concerned, and that the doors may open to separate compartments refrigerated to the same or different temperatures, or may open to a single compartment. In any event the refrigerated compartment does not occupy the entire cabinet, and a compressor unit 7 is positioned within the cabinet adjacent one side of the refrigerated compartment. The compressor unit is restricted in height, relative to the total height of the refrigerator cabinet, for reasons hereinafter described. Front wall 3 of the cabinet is provided with a door in front of the compressor unit, and the lower portion of this door is open, as indicated at 9, to provide for ventilation to keep the compressor cool.

The top 10 is provided with a door 11 adapted to cover a plurality of compartments 12 adapted to hold various 'ice ingredients for salads at a temperature suitable for keeping them fresh and crisp. An opening 13 is provided adjacent the rear of the cabinet, and a bread dispenser 14 is positioned therein. The bread dispenser is conventional, and will not be described in detail, but essentially it comprises a container 15 having a spring pressed plate 16 adapted to hold a stack of sliced bread with the uppermost slice always against a pivoted top plate 17. If desired, two bread dispensers may be provided to take care of orders for rye bread as well as white. It should be noted that the compartments 12 and the bread dispenser 14 are positioned adjacent the rear wall 18 of the cabinet and that they do not take up the entire length or depth of the surface area of the cabinet top. Space is left between compartments 12 and dispenser 14 to permit a toaster to be positioned there.

The top of the cabinet is provided with a longitudinally extending groove or recess 19. This groove extends entirely across the length of cabinet 2 between the front of compartments 12 and front wall 3. Groove 19 is provided with straight side walls 20 and 21, and is provided with an opening 22 adjacent one end. Opening 22 is aligned vertically with a support 23 mounted in the cabinet above compressor unit 7 in any suitable manner and supporting a removable garbage container 24 having an open top.

A cutting board 25 fitting in groove 19 is provided with an opening 26 aligned with opening 22 for the disposal of garbage when the cutting board is in place. The side walls of the groove engage the edges of the cutting board to hold it firmly in place. The portion of board 25 in front of compartments 12 provides a convenient space for mixing salads. The cutting board is provided with straight edges 27 and 28 so that it can be reversed when one surface becomes nicked too much. The cutting board is preferably of greater thickness than the depth of groove 19 so that when both surfaces of the board become too badly nicked they may be planed to provide a smooth surface, and used again. The cutting board may be planed several times, until its thickness is less than the depth of groove 19, and then it may be replaced with a new board.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a work space for making salads and sandwiches on the top of a refrigerator cabinet having means for keeping salad and sandwich ingredients in proper condition for use. The work space does not require any extra floor space and does not interfere with access to the ingredients.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact construction described.

I claim:

1. A refrigerator cabinet provided with a top wall having a groove extending longitudinally of said cabinet for receiving a cutting board, said top wall having an opening extending through the groove adjacent one end thereof, and a refrigerated compartment having a door hinged to said top wall rearwardly of said groove.

2. A refrigerator cabinet having a top wall provided with a longitudinally extending groove, a cutting board fitting in said groove, said board and said groove having straight side walls, whereby said board may be firmly held in said groove with either its top or bottom surface uppermost, said groove and said board being provided with vertically aligned openings, and an open top garbage container removably mounted in said cabinet below and in vertical alignment with said openings.

3. A refrigerator cabinet having two compartments in side by side relationship, a compressor unit in one of said compartments for refrigerating said other compartment, 21 top wall extending over both of said compartments,

board removably fitted into said groove, said cutting board and said groove having aligned openings, and an open top garbage container removably mounted over said compressor in said first compartment and aligned vertisaidtop wall having a groove extending longitudinally 5 cally with said openings.

of said cabinet adjacent its front edge, said groove having an opening extending therethrough, and an open top garbage container removably mounted in said first compartment and aligned vertically with said opening.

4. A refrigerator cabinet having two compartments in side by side relationship, a compressor unit in one of said compartments for refrigerating said other compartment, at top wall extending over both of said compartments, said top wall having a groove extending longitudinally of said cabinet adjacent its front edge, a cutting 15 2680560 2,445,915 Kw! TZTTZTZ'TfTTZJ'IT J 1948 2,474,101 Frotingharn nine 21, 1949 2,609,024 Russ Sept. 2, 1952 2,614,401 Roberts Oct; 21, 1952 

